Had a major scare over Thanksgiving!

[kreestole]

Had my first bunny emergency with Oswald the Monday before Thanksgiving.  He ran out of water in his water bottle overnight (I feel terrible, I usually ALWAYS check it before I head up to bed) and was in the midst of a major shed (again) and the following day he was lethargic and mopey, just lying in his litter-bed.  (What I call the downstairs litterbox that he never uses to potty, only to lay in)  He didn’t rush up to his bowl when I gave him his pellets, which is highly unusual since he LOVES his pellets and runs around like a madman for them.  I noticed he hadn’t gone to the bathroom all day and got worried.  Of course this was on a Sunday, so I went online to see what I could do to keep him from getting dehydrated until the next morning when I could get him to the vet.  I had my husband rush out to buy unflavored pedialyte and we forced it with a syringe, first every 10 mins for an hour, then hourly until about 3 am.  I finally had to go to bed because I had a test in class at 8am, my husband slept downstairs on the couch to listen for him to drink or move around.  He gave him pedialyte a couple more time throughout the night.  He was still pretty listless the next morning, but alive.  I went to school and as soon as I finished my test I called my vet and they had me rush him in for an urgent care appointment.  When we got there, the vet examined him and thought he felt a foreign object in his belly, so wanted to do an ultrasound ($600) or a lateral x-ray ($75).  I didn’t have much money so I opted for the x-ray, which showed no foreign object.  He gave him sub-q fluids and sent me off with a note to buy fresh pineapple juice and papaya enzyme tablets and feed him that in a syringe a couple times a day.  We got the juice and tablets, and gave him it a couple times that day and he perked up and finally there were the littlest saddest poos in his litterbox.  He still wouldn’t eat or drink though, but he was alert and moving around a little.  After the 2nd treatment of the pineapple and papaya enzyme, he finally peed and the poo pellets were getting bigger.  By that night, he actually nibbled some pellets and hay.  Still no drinking, so I kept up with the juice treatment for the next day and finally that night he drank again and seemed perfectly back to normal.  I was so relieved.  

[Sarita]

I HIGHLY recommend you read this article on GI Stasis by Dana Krempels – it’s pretty much the definitive article on this subject and she has continuously updated it as she has learned more:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m so glad Oswald is okay. Tummy upsets in bunnies can be scary! I agree with reading the link Sarita posted, very informative. Most vets feel that pineapple juice doesn’t actually do anything. Sub Q fluids can do wonders so I’m glad your vet did that right away.

[kreestole]

Sarita-

Thank you for the link! I just read and bookmarked it.  I was so relieved he pulled through, I don’t know what I would’ve done.  I didn’t find that particular article that Sunday night, but I’m glad I found the one about the pedialyte and did that.  And I fussed over him most of the night, hoping he wouldn’t give up.  Major scare, but I plan to use it a learning experience to be better prepared in case it happens again.

[kreestole]

I don’t know if the pineapple and papaya did more than spark his appetite, the sub-q fluids perked him up though.  The vet saw how much he was shedding at the office and thought a hairball was a possibility and that the fruit enzymes could help.  I don’t know exactly what worked, but something did.  We did do some tummy massage and I plan on buying some infant gas drops to have on hand, just in case.  From reading and research before this happened, I knew that the lethargy and not eating, drinking, or going to the bathroom was really serious.  I’m glad I found this site and have read what I have, or I might not have noticed in time.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Quick action can definitely be a life saver when it comes to stasis, so I’m very glad you did notice and got him in to the vet when you did. Simethicone is something I recommend all bunny owners have on hand.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Phew! Sounds like things turned out just fine! Was that your normal vet you saw or an emergency vet?

[kreestole]

It was my normal vet.  I haven’t heard great things about the emergency vet clinic except with cats and dogs.  If he would have given up on me I would’ve gone, but I think me making a fuss and forcing him to drink pedialyte till morning helped.  Don’t these kind of things ALWAYS happen on a weekend or the middle of the night? Yeesh.  

[LittlePuffyTail]

Yes they do, Kreestole!!!! Most of my bunny and horse emergencies happen after hours!!! It’s like they know!

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